Category: Financial info

So a Miami judge has ruled that the digital currency bitcoin is not money in a money laundering case. The accused launderer was charged for selling $1,500 worth of bitcoins to undercover agents for use in buying stolen credit cards. There is mixed reactions to the ruling. The defendant, of course, is glad of the court victory but prosecutors are worried the judge set a precedent that would embolden criminals to wash dirty money with bitcoins.

Some 3,000 miles away in Suisun City, California, executives of WPCS International Inc. (Nasdaq: WPCS) received the news with keen interest. It may be odd since the company does not charge customers bitcoins for designing and building communications infrastructure and doing specialty construction, its main business. But the case and the ruling matter because WPCS owns BTX Trader LLC, which runs an online platform where bitcoins can be traded in multiple digital currency exchanges worldwide. The judge left bitcoin trading untouched making it business as usual for BTX Trader. WPCS is rated as a Strong Buy

BTX Trader’s Platform

The BTX Trader’s platform of the same name connects users to 14 bitcoin exchanges worldwide to retrieve market data and other users’ trade activity as well as to place trades. It has a built-in wallet called Celery that allows U.S. residents to buy bitcoin or dogecoin, another cryptocurrency, via direct bank transfers. BTX Traders earns from transaction fees from users. It also sells the wallet for the bitcoin equivalent of $99, $49.99 or $99.99.

The latest quarterly earnings report in March showed that operations in Suisun generated $286,000 in income for the fiscal 2016 third quarter and $886,000 for the nine months ended Jan. 31, 2016. The company’s only debt is a $150,000 vehicle loan and more than 96 percent of its $7 million assets are current assets.

Share Rally

With the recognition and use of bitcoin for paying goods and services growing, WPCS saw the opportunity of propping up revenues and attracting more investors by acquiring BTX Trader LLC in 2013. WPCS shares rose by a dollar from $1.51 to $2.53 before settling at $2 when the acquisition was announced in December that year. A share of WPCS is worth $1.52 as of July 26.

Shareholders were made aware of the many risks of the foray in the digital currency industry. One is the slowdown in the development of the Bitcoin network and reduction in the use of the digital money. There is also risk from the regulatory environment. The European Union is pushing for government access to bitcoin databases, identities of users of the virtual currency and users’ wallet addresses by next year to prevent terrorists from using bitcoins to fund their attacks. Such regulation could discourage bitcoin investment, though it is a recognition of the digital currency. There are also competing bitcoin trading platforms. But BTX Trader and WPCS welcome anything that heightens trading volumes of bitcoins.

Bitcoin pathway

The retail industry is slow in adopting virtual currency as a payment mode. Speculation is said to be the main driver of bitcoin trading. Risk-conscious investors can test the virtual currency as a go-to asset without being a trader or miner (those who record bitcoin transactions to earn bitcoins) themselves. WPCS is one such avenue.

Although the contractor belongs to a different industry, running a bitcoin service is not unusual for a company that is unrelated to financial services and retail. A mining company had ventured into bitcoin mining while a game developer is allowing players to pay in bitcoin to play. WPCS, through BTX Trader, plans to develop more bitcoin services as it serves its traditional customers.

Checking your bank account on pay day can be one of the most satisfying feelings of the month, but unfortunately that feeling is often short lived. Once you’ve paid your rent or mortgage, your energy bills and your taxes, you can often be left with very little to spend on anything other than food. But although your smartphone now adds another big bill to your monthly outgoings, it can actually help you keep track of your finances and even save money. Here are a few ways technology can make managing your finances much easier.

Pay the Best Price for Products and Services

One of the best ways to make your money go further is to make sure you’re paying the best price for products and services. Often if you’re buying something from a store in person you could be paying a lot more for it than if you were buying it online. You can now even get apps on your phone like Barcode Scanner that will let you find out whether a product is available cheaper online by just taking a photo of the bar-code. If you can find it online cheaper, you could save even more money by visiting sites like Coupon Follow and Deals Plus to find discount codes that can get you a percentage off the price or even free delivery.

Check Regularly for Promotions

By taking the time to shop around and checking sites regularly for promotions you can really save a lot of money. When you do buy from your favorite stores, booking sites or even casinos take the time to sign up for their newsletter as they will let you know when they’re running sales on their range of clothes, electrical products or DVDs. If you’re a fan of playing casino games, there are even some really lucrative casino promotions to take advantage of on the internet. Casino affiliate site Red8’sregularly run casino promotions on their client’s behalf, ensuring that customers get to enjoy the latest bonuses.

Check Energy Savings Opportunities

You can even save money on your energy bills by checking whether you’re on the best tariff from the comfort of your mobile phone. Sites like ChooseEnergy will compare all of the energy providers in your state and based on your energy usage tell you what the cheapest deal for you is. Although switching energy providers might sound difficult, the website takes the stress out of switching for you and within a few clicks you can be saving hundreds of dollars every year.

View your Bank Account Regularly

Although discount codes, casino promotions and comparison sites can save you a lot of money, the best way of managing your finances is probably to keep an eye on your bank account. Luckily most major banks now have smartphone apps that mean you can check how much money you’ve got 24 hours a day, wherever you are. So whether you want to make sure you have some money saved up for something special or just want to stay out of your overdraft, these banking apps can be a real stress reliever.